Today was my first day back to work after a brief vacation. I was glad to see my co-workers and my customers…at first anyway. The honeymoon ended when the phone rang, and I dared to answer it. The guy on the other end of the phone started the conversation off poorly…
Guy: “I must have pushed the wrong button, I’m looking for the service department.”
Me: “No, you reached service, how can I help you?”
Guy: “Well, I need to know the price of a tune-up.”
Me: “OK. What type of vehicle?”
Guy: “It’s a Crown Vic, like the kind the police use. It has a V-8.”
Me: “They all do. What year is it?”
Guy: “2000.”
Me: “Alright, it’s just shy of $122. $121.57. That price only covers the spark plugs and the labor to install them, it doesn’t include wires or anything else.”
Guy: “Well, can you give me a price on all of that?”
Me: “No problem.”
Guy: “Oh, and this car doesn’t have what you would call a cap and rotor. A distributer cap. It has what’s called a COIL PACK (said verry slowly), it’s a little square thing, one above each cylinder.”
Me: “Yes, I am completely aware of what a COIL PACK (also said verry slowly) is and how it functions even. I’d have to call the dealership in order to price the coil pack for you.”
I gave him the prices on everything else, and was never happier to get off the phone. Maybe I should be used to it by now, but it still bothers me when people question my knowledge of cars. I don’t know everything, but chances are, I know more than someone calling my job to ask questions. It’s like people think that I have my job so the company can meet some quota or something. Welcome to the new millenium. Women are allowed out of the kitchen now.
AAaahhhh, the ugly is out now. Sometimes, the ugly feminist inside gets out and I say crazy things. hahaha
Well, then I go into the shop and I see one of our mechanics was working on a ‘90 Chevy pickup. He was replacing the starter on it and once he got it in he reconnected the battery and turned the key. The solenoid energized, the starter engaged and tried to turn, but no luck. I heard it and i knew something was terribly wrong. It wasn’t my customer but I looked the vehicle up when I got back inside to see what had been recommended to him. He requested the starter. We offered him a diagnostic, but he declined, saying he knew that the starter was old and it was “time to replace it”. He spent like $200 getting the starter and putting it in. It would have cost him only $20 to find out that the crankshaft was locked up on it.
My coworker asked me if I could call this customer because I was “good at delivering bad news to people”. So I called this guy and told him that I had good news and and bad news. The good news was the starter being sucessfully installed. The bad news was that the truck still didn’t start because the engine is locked.
He seemed surprised that he hadn’t hit the nail on the head. Funny how those things worked out. This time, when offered him the diagnostic he accepted it. This time, it was a more expensive diag, but we needed to find out what caused the engine to seize and if it could be repaired or if it needed to be replaced. He kicked himself a little bit, but I told him that it happens more often than he would suspect. People like to diagnose thier own vehicles and they look at thier cars as hobbies, but most people aren’t familiar enough with thier vehicle to be cost effective.
If only people could just let go …let the mechanic fix your ride, just like you let the chef cook your food. If you don’t trust the mechanic, buy a Chilton, a six-pack, and learn to do it yourself. The automotive world won’t really miss you. We’ll be busy, doing our jobs.
